Device for releasing snagged fishing lures or baits



Nov. 9, 1948. E. F. MCDONALD, JR 2,453,245,

DEVICE FOR- RELEASING SNAGGED FISHING LURES OR BAITS Filed March 4, 1946INVENTOR.

i zzyezzegfyajajzala/rfit Patented Nov. 9, 1948 DEVICE FOR, RELEA'SINGSNAGGED FISHING IiURES OR B'AITS Eugene F. McDonald, Jr., Chicago, Ill.

'ApplicatiomMarch 4, 1946,: Serial -No.-'= 651,674

13 Claims.

This invention relates to.'.a: device for unleasingssnagged fishinglures or balls, and is :rmore particularly concerned .With the provisionof 21a novel. :device for thispurpose whichrnayicbe-easiW andquicklyapplied tothe. fishing-line. andreifectively employed :tofreesthexsnagged: lure :or bait attachedsthereto without ibecomingitself fouled with the line or entangled with the obstruction.

While the dev-ice is' useful ror freeing snagged fishing tackle ofvariousdescriptions, I shall describe its use for the purpose forwhich-it is more especially designed and in which it difiers from anyother devicekn-ow-n to me.

When :trolling along or near the bottom in comparatively deep water, itisrcustomary toll-Se a .v lure or aartificial bait which, when drawnthmughtne Water, simulates ,thesswimmtmgcof 1a live bait, some forms oflures and baits weaving from side to side and others rising and diving,and this erratic action of the bait is sometimes the cause of itsswinging into or diving beneath some obstruction, the nature of whichcannot be determined by the fisherman. In order to avoid breaking of thefishing line and losing a favorite or valued lure or bait, the obviousaction of the fisherman is to attempt to dislodge the bait from theobstruction by backing it out therefrom. In shallow water, this may beaccomplished by maneuvering the fishermans boat to a position in whichthe bait may be pulled back from the obstruction, but in comparativelydeep water, it is more difficult, because the nature of the obstructioncannot be determined and the proper backing out angle of the fishingline cannot be so easily effected, and the line or bait may becomefurther and perhaps hopelessly snagged. The device I shall describe hasproven satisfactorily effective in such instances and, so far as I amaware, differs in construction and action from other de-snaggingdevices, principally in that it may be lowered along the fishing lineand be guided thereby to a position near the snagged bait Without thelowering line of the device becoming twisted about the fishing line, andwithout the device itself becoming fouled with the line or entangledwith obstacles. With any ap- 'preciable degree of backward slant to thefishing line, the lowering of the device therealong will deflect thebacking out angle of the line with respect to the attached and snaggedlure or bait, this deflection increasing as the device approaches thebait.

In the drawings-- Figure 1 illustrates one use of my device forreleasing snagged fishing lures or baits, showing in full 1 lines Y thev:pa-rtial lowering of the device: in engagement-with andgguidedibythejfishing line toward the snag edbait, and in dottedlines the fully,loweredposition of the device and its-deflecting action upon thefishinglineitoassistln backing out the bait from the "obstruction;

fFig..-2 is a front verticalsectionalzviewotthe view of the device,showing the supporting loop or; bail thereof in closed position;

Fig. 3 isatransverse-sectional view, taken-upon the line 33 of Figure 2;v

is a frontelevational-view of the device, showing thesupporting loop orbail thereof in opemposition; and

Fig. 5 is a. horizontal sectional view, :taken upon the line 15--.5 ofFigure Z.

While .the device may, of course bamade-in .diflerent :sizesr-I havefound the sizeshown in full scale in Figures 2 to 5 to be preferable forgeneral use in comparatively deep water fishing The body I consists of aslab-like block 01 plate of zinc, lead, or other weighty solid, the fourside faces of which are upwardly tapered as shown. As viewed in Figure2, a circular opening 2 extends through body I from front to back andabove the central portion thereof. All edges are rounded and smooth,particularly so around the circular opening 2, as shown at 3 in Figure3. A line entrance slot or passage 4 extends downwardly from the topface of body I into opening 2, and a similarly extending transverse slot5 crosses passage 4. Pins 6 and 1 are riveted or otherwise secured inbody I, crossing slot 5 upon opposite sides of passage 4, to serve asanchorages for the supporting loop or bail 8. Bail 8 is formed,preferably of spring wire, to serve both as a supporting loop and as agate for the passage 4, one arm 9 thereof terminating in a hook l0releasably engaging pin 6 and the other arm ll being hingedly attachedto body I by an eye or bight l2 bent therein about pin 1, andterminating in an arm l3 which, when the loop or ball 8 is in the closedposition shown in Figure 2, bridges across the line entrance slot orpassage 4.

Referring, now, to Figure 1, it will be assumed that the fisherman hasbacked up his boat and fruitlessly attempted to back out the snaggedbait M from the obstruction l5. It will be assumed, also, that he isprepared for the occasion by having one of the present devices ready foruse, with a lowering line l6 attached to the bail 8. He grasps bail 8,presses arm 9 inwardly and downwardly to disengage hook [0 from pin 6,and turns ball 8 to the open position shown in Figure 4, where it willbe observed that arm l3 has been swung upwardly to open the lineentrance passage 4. Still retaining his grasp of bail 8, he then hooksbody I' of the device around the fishing line I1, the fishing linepassing through slot or passage 4 into opening 2, and closes the bailinto the position shown in Figure 2, in which the hook l0 engages withpin 6 and arm 13 closes the entrance of slot 4 into opening 2, therebysecurely locking the device around the fishing line. It will be notedthat, when the device is thus ready for use, all of the lower parts ofbail 8 are housed within transverse slot 5, and that no parts of thedevice are exposed which might become snarled with the fishing line orsnagged With obstructions,

The fisherman then lowers the. device along the fishing line I1, whichhe holds fairly taut, the

weight of the device acting to deflect the line more and more as itapproaches the snagged bait. Whether the fisherman is directly over, toeither side, or back of the bait, this deflecting action of the deviceupon the fishing line will have a dislodging effect upon the snaggedbait. The use of the device shown in Figure 1 is, of course, but one ofmany Ways of employing it, depending to a large extent upon the natureof the obstruction. The shape, size, weight, and construction of thedevice have all been considered in fitting it for general use for thepurposes mentioned.

I claim:

1. A device for releasing snagged fishing lures or baits comprising aweighted body having a transverse opening therethrough and a passageextending from anouter surface of said body to said opening, asupporting member attached to said body upon opposite sides of saidpassage, and gate means operable by the movement of said sup- 4 portingmember with respect to said body to bar and unbar said passage.

2. A device for releasing snagged fishing lures or baits comprising a,weighted body having-a transverse opening therethrough and a, passageextending from an outer surface of said body to said opening, asupporting member pivotally attached to said body at one side of saidpassage and releasably attached to said body at' the opposite side ofsaid passage, and gatemeans forming a part of said supporting member andoperable by the movement thereof about its pivotal attach- .ment tosaidbody to bar and unbar said passage.

3. A device for releasing snagged fishing lures or baits comprising aslab-like weighted body REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,371,188 Wells Mar. 8, 19212,385,415 Jackson Sept. 25, 1945 2,395,892 Lontz Mar. 5, 1946

